Wire-stretcher.



yA. l". GERRARD.

wmpsTRecHER, APPLICATION FILED IULY 5'. |91?.

Patented Aug. 2T, [Q l.

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www/fa WITNESSES: 7

Mw@ i y TTORN Y lUNITED sTATEs PATENT oEErcE.

ALE() J. GERBARD, OF SEATTLE, WASHINGTON.

WIRE-STRETCHER.

Application filed July 5, 1917.

To all whom t may concern:

lie it known that l` Anno J. (immuun, a. .subject of the King of England, residing at Seattle. in the county of King and State of ll'ashington, have invented certain new and useful;Improvements in 'ire-Stretchers, of which the followingl is a specification.

This invention relates to wire stretching Vand securing appliances.

The object of the invention is the ,provision of a machine adapted to be utilized in streit-blingl wire bands about a box, or the like. and fastening the ends of the stretched wire through the agency of a. tubular coupling member.

'lho` invention consists in the novel construction, :ulaptation and conll'iination of parts, as will be hereinafter described and clain'led.

.ln the acconilmnying drawings, Figure 1 is a plan view of a machine embodying my invention. Fig. 'l a front elevational view of the saine. Fig. 1) is a transverse sectional View taken through 5-3 of Fig. 2. Fig. -1 is a view similar to Fig. El but with the conpling crilnpii'ig mechanism shown in a4 different position. ,l `ig. 5 is a perspective view illustrating the coupled ends of a wire. Fig.

'li represents a tnbe-coupling such as utilized in the present: invention.

Referring to the drawings, the numeral l0 designates a shaft provided for soine distance from its ends with right and left-band .screw threads 11 and 12. These screwthreaded portions` of the shaft engage in correspoiuling threads provided in blocks 13 and 141.

A bar 15 arranged parallel to and at the rear of said shaft slidably fits in apertures provided'in the blocks to guidethe same and participate with the shaft to prevent the blocks skewing when subjected to 'strains in operation SecuredI to, or formed integral with, said blocks, are plates 1T having forwardly protruding jaw portions 18 whose upper surfaces are desirably formed with teeth 19. (loacting with the toot-hed portions of said plates are dogs 20 pi Votally connected to the respectiveblocks by bolts 2 1. 'Said dogs are formed with serrationsQQ to coact with the gjaw-teeth to afford an effectivel'grip upon the Wire which isto be stretched, l

23 represents u beveled toothed gear secured' to the shafti10, as by a pin 24, and is Specification of Letters Patent. l

Patented Aug. 27, 1918.

Serial No. 178,551.

'15, the latter being rigidly secured to thel support as by pin 1o.

3() represents a handle-bar connected to the upper end of the stub shaft and is advantageously provided at one end with a crank-arm 31 to facilitate the rapid turning of the stuli-shaft. 'lo take up the slack of the wire in the earlier part of the stretching operation, the ultimate stretching action be ingattained by turning the bar with the op erator grasping inel ends of thesaine.

Secured, as by bolts 3Q, to the underside of the support 29, is a plate 33 which extends obliquely forward and terminates in a jaw 3l having its upper surface corrugated by the provision of spaced ridges 35 disposed rectangular to the axis of the shaft 10, or nearly so.

Cooperating with and hingedly connected by pins such 3G to the jaw 34:, is a4 second jaw 3 7 having its underside corrugated by ridges 238 disposed to register in the grooves intermediate the ridges of' the i opposing jaw 34.

The jaw 37 is fori'ned with un arm 39 which is connected by links l0 with a. lever t] having at one end an apertured boss ,42 which is mounted on the shaft 10 between the aforesaid support and a set collar 413 Which serves with the gear 23 to prevent any displacement of said supporter of the lever in directions axially of the shaft.

The operation Aof the invention is as follows:

With the lever 41 pushed back and holding the jaw 38 in the position in which it is illustrated in Fig. 4, a wire indicated by W', YW is clamped near its ends between the jaws 18 and the respective dogs 2O by the` The handle-bar is then manipulated to rotate through the medium of the gears 25 and 23 the screw-threaded shaft 10 in `such manner that the blocks will be drawn to# Ward each other, resulting in stretching thel wire. When the wire is sufliciently taut, the ends of the wire are threaded through a metal tube T, Fig. (l, and udjustably moved lo seni. upon the jaw 34, whereupon the 0pcmior swings the lever 4l forwardly from its Fig, f-lposition, thereby causing the jaw il? to be brought forcibl against the tube '1" containing the wire ends, as shown in Fig. Y, and serving to crimp or corrugate the tube and .inclosed portions of the wire as represented in Figs. 2 and 5, thereb affording a reliable couplin of the two en s of the wire.

,'The use of a eft-and-right screwthreaded shaft enables the twovblocks to be-moved '15 toward or from each other with considerable speed, and furnishes ample power for the purpose of stretching the wire. The screw threads, moreover, serve to retain the blocks 'in positions to which they are brought, without the necessity of any braking or locking dm .zes ,so as to enable the operator to em- 'ploy one of his hands to apply the coupling til' while bis other hand is utilized to actuth'e crimping jaw by means of the 41.

25 "lire invention is of simple, strong and durable construction, and is eflicient in 0peratio'n. ,l

'In a machine of the character described, the combination with a shaft havin right and left hand screw threads, a pair of blocks carrying wire-gripping devices threaded upon said screw threads, a sup ort in which said shaft is jourvneled, a stu "-sha ft journaled in said support, a handle for rotating the stub shaft, driving connections between the two shafts, a jaw connected to said support, a second jaw hngedly connected to the frst-naned jaw, said jawsbeing provided with opposing corrugated faces, an arm pro- 'vided on the second-named jaw,e lever fulcrumed on the screw shaft, and link connections between the lever and said arm for actuatin the jaws.

Signe at Seattle, Washington, this 28th day of June, 1917.

E. PE'rsRsoN, PIERRE BARNES. 

